Firefighters' deaths in building collapse prompt debate

Firefighters salute their deceased colleagues at the fire scene in Harbin city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Jan 3, 2015. [Photo/IC]

The loss of the firefighters was met with respect and sympathy from the public, with many questioning whether a lack of professionalism was a major fact or in the heavy loss of lives in fires in China.

"Fighting fire relies more on experience and wisdom than on just being young and brave, "Zhang Hong, a commentator at China Central Television, said on his micro blog." In most developed countries, firefighting is a profession and firefighters do the job for a whole lifetime."

In China, most firefighters are part of the armed police forces, and when they retire after a few years' service, they are replaced by young armed police officers, resulting in a shortage of firefighters with rich experience, according to a report by Beijing News.

Many firefighters in China have not participated in a single fire-rescue operation during their two years' service in the armed police forces, Zhang said.

"Only when firefighting becomes a profession can the loss of lives be reduced. We should not let young people sacrifice their lives for us," he said.

In May of last year, two firefighters, age 23 and 20, died after falling from a high-rise building in Shanghai while trying to extinguish a fire in an apartment.

In 2003,20 firefighters were killed in Hengyang, Hunan province, when part of an eight-story building collapsed on them while they were trying to put out a fire.

Wang Ge contributed to this story.